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Peregrine Travel Centre

Baffin Bay Secrets 2021 (L’Austral)

Baffin Bay Secrets 2021 (L’Austral)

From AUD $21,840

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Description

PONANT invites you to set sail aboard L’Austral for a memorable 14-day expedition cruise to the discovery of Baffin Bay. You will embark in Kangerlussuaq for an unforgettable journey in the heart of the most magnificent Arctic landscapes.

The first destination is the west coast of Greenland which will welcome you with its majestic icebergs, colourful villages encircled by mountains and its basalt formations. This is the ideal opportunity for meeting the local population and learning about Greenland Inuit culture.

Further north, the Baffin Bay will then reveal its remote villages of peat houses where the last bear hunters and narwhal fishers live in the middle of the Arctic tundra according to their ancestral traditions. You will also see the remains of ancient Inuit civilisations and will discover Savissivik, the largest “iceberg graveyard” in Greenland.

During the last days of your cruise, L’Austral will sail along the eastern coast of Baffin Island, in the Nunavut, Canada. With its immense cliffs, bird colonies and fjords, this destination will definitely delight you.

Please note: your voyage rates include Flight Paris/Kangerlussuaq + transfers + flight Kangerlussuaq/Paris.

Trip Name
Baffin Bay Secrets 2021 (L'Austral)
Days
14
Overview
Vessel Type: Luxury Expedition / Cruise Ship Length: 142 metres Passenger Capacity: 264 (200 in Antarctica) Built: 2011 This superb mega-yacht with 132 cabins is the result of the expertise of the Italian Fincantieri shipyard and French sophistication, as interpreted by designer Jean-Philippe Nuel. L'Austral has a unique atmosphere, a subtle blend of luxury, intimacy and well-being. A sleek silhouette softened by elegantly smooth contours and large, arched windows opening up to the sea and the light: so many features come together to give L’Austral her distinctive shape. Precious materials, discreet elegance and a perfect balance between chic and casual, combine to make you feel as if you are on your own private yacht. A design blending tradition and innovation, where a nautical mood has been subtly recreated. Precious materials in smoothing neutral tones are brought to life with splashes of cheerful reds. So many personal touches create the spirit of a “private yacht”. Cuisine Loyal to the great French tradition, the haute cuisine on board is worthy of the finest restaurants, where discreet, attentive service is the hallmark. Our two restaurants welcome you for breakfasts, lunch and dinner. The Gastronomic Restaurant, with a capacity of 268 persons, is situated on Le Liberté Deck and serves you French and international cuisine accompagnied by fine wine. On the Grill Restaurant, you will have the opportuniny to eat outside and enjoy buffet lunch and themed dinner. Life On Board Whether you want to join other guests in the theatre or games area (Wii™ consoles, etc), or relax on your own in a quiet corner of the library, L'Austral has been designed to meet the needs of every guest. Everything has been done to preserve the independence of each guest to suit their personal tastes: lounges for lectures and shows, a spa in partnership with Sothys™, but also more intimate spaces such as the library and internet corner. Comfortable cabins, nearly all with private balcony, are available for families either as triples or as communicating cabins. There is also a games area with Wii™ consoles, children’s menus, and a baby-sitting service. Just as if you were on a private yacht, your time is your own to do as you please. Fitted with the latest equipment (Kinesis Wall, running machine) and in partnership with the famous Sothys™ brand, the Beauty Centre on L'Austral welcomes you for some unforgettable moments of relaxation and pampering (beauty treatments, hairdresser).

Itinerary



Day 1 - Day 1 KANGERLUSSUAQ
From 1941 to 1992, the town of Kangerlussuaq in Greenland was home to an American military base. Nowadays, thanks to its international airport, it has become a transit point for travellers seeking adventure in the Far North. Located to the north of the Arctic Circle, this town is the starting point of magnificent discoveries surrounded by unspoiled nature. Indeed, just a few dozen kilometres from there it is possible to get close to the Greenland ice sheet, the largest body of ice in the Northern Hemisphere. From Kangerlussuaq, admire also the superb landscapes of tundra in autumnal colours, where Arctic hares, musk oxen, Arctic foxes, reindeer, falcons and eagles live.
Day 2 - Day 2 SISIMIUT
During your cruise, we invite you to discover Sisimiut, founded in 1756 and the second largest town in Greenland. This small town is typical of Greenland, boasting bewitching panoramas: here and there, colourful stilt houses dot the undulating landscape, and the small fishing port stands as the gateway to an icy realm. As for the town centre, it is home to a number of historic buildings, a small church and a museum which retraces the history of the Inuit people, as well as many craft shops. When your ship drops anchor here, you will set out to meet the locals in a typically arctic atmosphere.
Day 3 - Day 3 PAUL-ÉMILE VICTOR BASE CAMP, EQI GLACIER & DISKO BAY
"The most beautiful place in the Arctic" is how Paul-Émile Victor described Greenland, a land of great table icebergs and of towering ice formations calved by the giant glaciers of the polar ice cap. The Eqi Glacier is one of the region’s most impressive sights. Here, the silence is broken only by the roaring and cracking of the ice. It is impossible to know if one is shivering from cold or from the sheer thrill of being here... Imagine the vast outline of a glacier, its translucent crystals glowing with an ice-blue fire in the sunlight. Paul-Émile Victor’s shelter cannot be overlooked; it was from here that the French Polar Expeditions’ anthropological and geographic explorations set off in the 1950s.
Day 4 - Day 4 DISKO BAY
To the east of Baffin Bay, discover Disko Bay, scattered with countless icebergs produced by the Ilulissat Icefjord, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. From your ship, admire the majestic ballet of these ice giants as they slowly drift across the dark waters. This site is a natural marvel of Greenland, and is also renowned as an observation point for the region’s many humpback whales. The encounters with wild fauna and stunning landscapes in the heart of this spectacular and fragile nature will be pure moments of wonder for you.
Day 5 - Day 5 KARRAT FJORD
During your cruise along the Greenland coast, we invite you to discover the Karrat Fjord. Located in the north of the famous Uummannaq Bay, it stretches out towards the ice sheet. As you sail in this exceptional setting, take the time to admire the beautiful icebergs that surround you, as well as the sheer cliffs that tower along the fjord.
Day 6 - Day 6 KULLORSUAQ
Well beyond the Arctic Circle, in the majestic landscapes of Greenland’s Northwest, you will find the village of Kullorsuaq, the last bastion of Greenland’s traditional hunters. Here is where you will find Greenland’s true character… Vast mineral expanses, sumptuous mountains, impressive glaciers and, above all, the local population which still lives off fishing and seal or bear hunting. Hospitality and respect for nature are essential elements in the daily lives of these men, who live an austere life. When we drop anchor in this remote part of the world, set off to discover these friendly people who are also talented craftsmen, deftly sewing the furs and skins of marine mammals. This will be a unique and authentic experience.
Day 7 - Day 7 SAVISSIVIK
Some places in this world are so magical that their beauty cannot be described in words… Savissivik, a small Inuit village with less than a hundred inhabitants, is one such place. Rightly considered to be the biggest iceberg graveyard in Greenland, it is a stunning sight to behold. During your Zodiac® outing, you will sail between these icy giants. Once on land, you can hike to a viewpoint from which to enjoy breathtaking views over these icebergs, which come in an incredibly diverse range of shapes and colours. Photographers will love it. Savissivik Bay attracts many bears and is also known for having been the home of one of the world’s biggest meteorites, but the latter has now been moved to a museum in New York.
Day 8 - Day 8 DUNDAS HARBOUR, NUNAVUT
On the southern coast of Devon Island, Dundas Harbour, a Royal Canadian Mounted Police post in the early 20th century, keeps watch over the entrance to the Northwest Passage. This site has been frequented for centuries by the Inuit, who call it Talluruti - or “woman’s chin with tattoos on it” in Inuktitut - in reference to the lines of the landscape which are reminiscent of their traditional tattoos. Its hills, covered in taiga reflecting greens, browns and golds, are edged by the deep navy waters of a bay dotted with white and turquoise ice floe glistening in the sunlight.
Day 9 - Day 9 POND INLET, NUNAVUT
On Baffin Island, located in northern Canada at the mouth of the famous NorthWest Passage, there is a small Inuit settlement at the very bounds of infinity. To get there, cross the Arctic Circle, the imaginary line that separates man from lands of mystery and wonder. It’s not so much the way of life that sets Pond Inlet’s inhabitants apart, so much as the setting. Snow-capped mountains, fjords and glaciers combine in a dazzling natural environment that fills space and expands time. Some discoveries change you forever: this is one of them.
Day 10 - Day 10 SAM FORD FJORD, NUNAVUT
All around you is a raw landscape of spectacular beauty. Nothing seems to want to disturb the silence. You are in the Sam Ford Fjord, on the east coast of Baffin Island. Located only a few kilometres away from the Inuit community of Clyde River, this fjord has the kind of world’s end appearance that only the Arctic lands can offer. From your ship, allow yourself to be dazzled by the series of vertiginous cliffs plunging into the waters of the fjord. These impressively high walls of rock, known worldwide to climbing enthusiasts, are reflected in the waters of the fjord, as though to completely shift perspectives and blur the lines between land and sea.
Day 11 - Day 11 ISABELLA BAY, NINGINGANIQ WILDLIFE AREA
Welcome to the kingdom of the cetaceans! Here, those who love the giants of the Arctic won’t know where to look. Isabella Bay is in fact part of the Ninginganiq National Wildlife Area, one of the finest places to observe bowhead whales. From your ship, watch the sumptuous ballet performed by these impressive mammals. With undersea faults over 300 metres deep, Isabella Bay, located on the north-east coast of Baffin Island, attracts cetaceans which come here to feed. In addition to the bowhead whales, the uncontested stars of these parts, the Ninginganiq Wildlife Area is also home to ringed seals, narwhals, polar bears, king eiders, little auks and northern fulmars.
Day 12 - Day 12 KIVITOO, NUNAVUT
Located on the east coast of Baffin Island, in Nunavut, Kivitoo is a simultaneously calm and unsettling place that you will explore with your naturalist-guides. This former Inuit camp lying in the heart of a heathland landscape was abandoned in 1923. Here you will pass before a broken-down cabin surrounded by metal tanks that stored whale oil at the time when cetacean hunting was in full swing. You will see walrus skulls and the graves of Inuits, revealing their past presence. Kivitoo had its days of technological glory in the 1950s, with the installation of an American radar station on top of the mountain overlooking the area.
Day 13 - Day 13 ITILLEQ
Itilleq is a tiny island lying within the Arctic Circle, 45 km south of Sisimiut. Home to barely 100 people, they mainly earn a living from fishing and hunting in their typical Greenlandic village, whose bright colours evoke those of their traditional clothing. During your visit, you will maybe have the pleasure of playing a game of football with them, enjoying a “kaffemik” (a coffee break) or a moment of contemplation when the gentle light of the midnight sun dapples the horizon.
Day 14 - Day 14 KANGERLUSSUAQ
Disembarkation.
Day 15 - Please Note:
Itineraries are subject to change.

Trip Dates

StartEndPrice FromRoom Type
17-07-202130-07-2021AUD $21,840Superior Stateroom
17-07-202130-07-2021AUD $23,450Deluxe Stateroom
17-07-202130-07-2021AUD $26,040Prestige Stateroom Deck 4
17-07-202130-07-2021AUD $27,250Prestige Stateroom Deck 5
17-07-202130-07-2021AUD $28,520Prestige Stateroom Deck 6
17-07-202130-07-2021AUD $39,160Deluxe Suite
17-07-202130-07-2021AUD $52,600Prestige Suite Deck 5
17-07-202130-07-2021AUD $55,130Prestige Suite Deck 6
17-07-202130-07-2021AUD $63,120Owner's Suite

Inclusions

    • Outings and shore visits in Zodiac® inflatables with a team of experienced naturalist guides.
    • Hiking opportunity.
    • Visit traditional villages and encounter the Inuit people.
    • Disko Bay, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, to see the Northern Hemisphere’s largest icebergs.
    • Landscapes: ice floes, jagged mountains, icebergs, ice caps, steep-sided valleys, sheer cliffs, huge glaciers.
    • Wildlife: polar bears, Arctic terns, walruses, whales, musk oxen.

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